Applicant Survey - 2006

2006 APPIC Match: Survey of Internship Applicants

May 20, 2006

This survey of applicants who were registered for the 2006 APPIC Match was conducted via the internet between February 27 and March 29, 2006. All 3,479 applicants who registered for the APPIC Match were sent an e-mail message (along with two reminder e-mails) about the availability of the survey at a specific internet address. A total of 2,337 internship applicants (67%) completed some or all of the survey.

Results of the survey are presented below. Missing data and "Not Applicable" responses were eliminated, and percentages do not necessarily total 100% due to rounding. Some survey items requested open-ended comments that were not included below.

3. Twelve percent of applicants reported being unable to participate in one or more interviews because of scheduling conflicts (see question 12).

4. Despite APPIC's instructions that applicants should use only their true preferences when developing their Rank Order Lists, 5% of applicants reported doing otherwise (see question 16).

5. Fifteen percent of applicants reported completing an online version of the AAPI for at least one site (see question 17).

6. Applicants endorsed the adoption of a "Centralized Application Service," but only if the cost is kept to a minimum (see question 19a-e).

7. The cost of participating in the selection process varied dramatically across applicants. While the average applicant spent $1,508 (median = $1,120, SD = $1,348), many applicants spent considerably less while many spent considerably more (see question 18).

8. A total of 377 applicants (16.1%) believed that they experienced some form of discrimination during the selection process (see question 29).

9. Questions 34 and 35 provide the median numbers of practicum hours reported by applicants. APPIC recommends that applicants interpret these numbers cautiously. Applicants should NOT assume that the numbers of practicum hours reported are necessary to successfully obtain an internship, as many Training Directors have told us that they consider these raw numbers to be one of the less important aspects of an application.

10. Fifty-five percent of applicants had at least one publication at the time of submitting their applications, while 77% had at least one professional presentation (see questions 38 and 39).

INTERPRETATION NOTE: A "combined" program could mean: (a) a doctoral program that defines itself as a "combined" program (e.g., clinical- school), or (b) an arrangement negotiated by a student in which he/she integrates the curricula of two separate doctoral programs at his/her school.

2. Degree Sought

Ph.D. 1407 60 % Psy.D. 913 39 % Ed.D. 4 0 % Other 5 0 %

3. Is your doctoral program APA- or CPA-accredited?

Yes 2158 93 % No 158 7 %

4. Is your program housed within a religiously-affiliated institution?

Yes 321 14 % No 1999 86 %

5. Please check the item that applies to you (please respond even if you withdrew from the Match or did not submit a Rank Order List):

This is my FIRST time 2182 94% participating in the Match

This is my SECOND time 135 6% participating in the Match

This is my THIRD time 7 0% participating in the Match

Other 4 0%

6. Were you matched to an internship program by the APPIC Match? (i.e., did your official notification from National Matching Services [NMS] indicate that you were successfully matched to an internship program?)

Yes 1849 80% No 406 17% Withdrew / No rankings submitted 70 3%

7a. The materials and instructions provided by National Matching Services (NMS) were clear and comprehensive.

It should be noted that Match Policy changes over the years may have influenced responses to this item.

8b. Did you reveal any ranking information (e.g., "You are my first choice") to any site?

Yes 17 1 % No 2293 99 % Unsure 13 1 %

8c. Did you experience inappropriate pressure from any site to reveal your rankings?

Yes 57 2 % No 2214 96 % Unsure 45 2 %

8d. Did any site reveal ranking information to you (e.g., "You are our first choice")?

Yes 62 3 % No 2210 95 % Unsure 44 2 %

9. To how many internship sites did you apply (i.e., how many separate internship applications did you submit)?

Mean = 12.9 Median = 13 SD = 5.2 Mode = 15

10. Considering ALL of the sites to which you applied, how many did NOT notify you of your interview status (e.g., received an interview, no longer under consideration) on or before the "interview notification date" listed in their APPIC Directory information? For example, if all of your sites notified you in a timely manner, choose "0".

Mean = 1.2 Median = 1 SD = 1.8 Mode = 0

11. How many interviews (telephone or on-site) were you offered?

Mean = 6.4 Median = 6 SD = 3.6 Mode = 4

12. At how many sites were you offered an interview, but no interview took place (either via telephone or in-person) solely due to scheduling conflicts?

13. How many programs did you include on your final Rank Order List (i.e., how many program code numbers were listed)?

Mean = 6.8 Median = 6 SD = 4.1 Mode = 8

NOTE: Use caution when comparing these numbers with the results from questions 9-11, since some sites used multiple program code numbers.

14. What was the rank of the program that you were matched to?

(Please see the 2006 APPIC Match Statistics for this information)

15. Did you participate in the Match with another person as a "couple" (i.e., by using special Match procedures to submit pairs of rankings)?

Yes 33 1 % No 2288 99 %

16. For the Match, applicants were instructed to construct their Rank Order Lists based only on their TRUE preferences, and to ignore such things as how they thought they were ranked by programs, programs' popularity, number of positions offered by programs, etc.

Did the Rank Order List that you submitted to NMS reflect ONLY your TRUE preferences? (Please skip this question if you did not submit a Rank Order List)

Yes 2161 95 % No 107 5 %

17. How many sites asked you to complete an online version of the AAPI (APPIC Application for Psychology Internships) via the internet?

For example, a site might have asked you to enter some information from your AAPI into an online form. (Please do NOT include times in which you sent your AAPI to a site as an e-mail attachment)

18. APPIC would like to know how much money you spent on various aspects of the application and selection process.

APPLICATION COSTS involve preparing and submitting applications to sites, and may include such items as obtaining official copies of transcripts, printing, copying, regular and overnight mailing, etc. TRAVEL COSTS may include such items as air or train fare, car rental, taxi, gasoline, hotel, etc. OTHER COSTS may include such items as your Match registration fee ($110 or $140), clothing costs, phone calls, etc.

Please enter your BEST ESTIMATE of the dollar amount spent, digits only, in each of the following areas (e.g., one hundred dollars would be entered as simply 100):

19. APPIC is considering the adoption of a "Centralized Application Service" that would allow you to create and update your AAPI entirely through the internet. In other words, instead of using your word processor, you would enter your application information into APPIC's web site and, when ready to submit your applications, you would have them transmitted directly to selected internship sites via the internet.

We imagine that many sites would be excited at the option of receiving your AAPI online. There may continue to be some sites that would prefer to receive your AAPI by regular mail, and for those sites you would be able to print a copy and mail it to them.

Keeping in mind how much you spent this year in preparing and submitting your applications, please let us know whether or not you believe that APPIC should adopt such a system, based on the various cost options listed below.

a. APPIC should adopt this system if there was NO COST to the applicant.

22. How many adult dependents are currently living with you, or for whom you are responsible? (DO include other relatives or individuals, i.e., mother, father, grandparent, ward. DO NOT include an able-bodied spouse/partner).

NOTE: Percentages were calculated based on the entire subject pool of 2,337 applicants.

29. If you believe that you have experienced some form of discrimination during the selection process, please designate the category(ies) for which this occurred (if you did not experience discrimination, please skip this question).

NOTE: A total of 377 applicants (16.1%) responded affirmatively to one or more categories.

30. (Open-Ended Question)

31. Did you have any geographic restrictions on your internship search that EITHER (a) reduced the number of sites to which you applied, OR (b) kept you from applying to sites in which you were interested?

Yes 1295 57 % No 970 43 %

32. IF YOU ANSWERED "YES" TO QUESTION 31: Which of the following best describes the reason for your geographic restriction:

I could only apply in a particular 579 44 % geographic area because of significant family, financial, and/or health considerations

I chose to restrict my search to 689 52 % particular geographic area(s) due to personal preference (e.g., preferred place to live, to be near family or friends)

Other 49 4 %

33. IF YOU ANSWERED "YES" TO QUESTION 31: Which of the following best describes your geographic restriction?

A single city or town, or within 447 34 % a 100-mile radius of a city/town

State / Province 156 12 %

Region of the Country 546 41 %

Other 169 13 %

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR AAPI

34. We would like to know the TOTAL NUMBER OF PRACTICUM HOURS that you reported on your AAPI. This includes ALL of your practicum hours, including hours from a terminal masters program and doctoral hours both before and after November 1.

In Section 3, Item 4, "Summary of Practicum Hours," please look in the right-most column, TOTAL HOURS INCLUDING ESTIMATED HOURS, and enter the hours listed for:

a. Intervention and Assessment: Median = 928 n = 1638

b. Support: Median = 846 n = 1632

c. Supervision: Median = 412 n = 1631

TOTAL HOURS Median = 2274 n = 1631

INTERPRETATION NOTE: These hours INCLUDE "Estimated" hours to be completed after November 1. "Total Hours" were calculated by summing the hours provided by each respondent. The "Total Hours" reported reflects a 4% increase as compared to the 2005 applicant survey.

APPIC advises applicants to interpret these numbers cautiously. Applicants should NOT assume that the numbers of practicum hours listed above are necessary to successfully obtain an internship, as many Training Directors have told us that they consider these numbers to be one of the less important aspects of an application.

35. Now, looking at the same table on your AAPI, please provide us with the numbers in the center column, under TOTAL COMPLETED HOURS. These are your practicum hours completed through November 1, excluding estimated hours.

a. Intervention and Assessment: Median = 759 n = 1624

b. Support: Median = 717 n = 1619

c. Supervision: Median = 352 n = 1619

TOTAL HOURS Median = 1911 n = 1619

INTERPRETATION NOTE: These hours EXCLUDE "Estimated" hours to be completed after November 1.

36. For each of the following populations, what was the total number of supervised integrated psychological reports that you reported on your AAPI? This information can be found in Section 4 of the AAPI ("Test Administration"), item 3.

a. Adults Median = 7 n = 1659

b. Children / Adolescents Median = 5 n = 1623

NOTE: Only medians were reported, as means and standard deviations were greatly affected by a few applicants who reported an extremely large number of reports.

37. Please provide the MONTH and YEAR that you designated on your AAPI that you completed or expected to complete each stage of your dissertation or doctoral research project.

(Results for this question are not included in this report)

38. How many publications were listed on the Curriculum Vitae that you submitted to internship sites? (Please estimate if you don't know the exact number).